This invention is in the field of systems for presenting visable images of far-infrared scenes, and is particularly concerned with an uncooled imaging transducer for converting a far-infrared image to a visible or near-infrared image. There are various systems known for providing visible or near-infrared images of far-infrared scenes; these systems include both thermal and quantum types of detectors, each with its own advantages. Unfortunately, all of these systems suffer from one or more significant disadvantage. Specifically, for a thermal detector, only a very small percentage of the incident radiation is actually used to advantage in producing a visible image; the majority of the radiation is essentially dumped into a heat sink because of poor thermal isolation between the detector elements and their support substrate. In the case of a quantum detector, cryogenic cooling is usually required for efficient operation in the far-infrared. Thermal detectors, beside having the problem of poor thermal isolation (which degrades sensitivity), also have large thermal masses (which lengthen time responses). The instant invention is uncooled, and because of its construction, has detector elements with greater thermal isolation (which gives greater sensitivity) than known thermal systems, and less thermal mass (which gives a faster time response) than such known thermal systems.